X l lewellen



l(No 'M-oe/I) 2 Shets-Sheet v A. M. LEWELLBN.

COPPIN nBPosIvToR.

No. 377,834. *Patent-enel); 14,1888-,

bf. ai

L., ar -l f a 1 l, a

y JCl/mezzm,

n. Pneus. mmuungnmf. www. n c

' 2 sheets-sheet 2. A. LEWBLLBN.

GOPFIN. DEPOSITOR.

ma M0881.)

N. 877,884. Patented Feb- 14, 1888.

' UNrrnn STATES ANDREW M. LEWELLEN, or nosENDALE, MISSOURI.

PATENT rricn. g

SPECIFICATION forming part ofLettersPatent N o. 377,834, dated` February14, 1888. Application filed April 23, 1887. I Serial No. 235,882. (Nomodel.)

T all whom it muy concern:

Be it known that I, ANDREW M. LEWELLEN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Rosendale, in the county of Andrew and State of Missouri,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in'Cofin and CasketDepositors; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,and exact description of the invention, such as will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

My invention relates to burial apparatus.

The object is to produce a device by which a con or casket can bedeposited safely in' a grave by the employment of but one person andwithout danger of the common accident of letting the body fall inlowering it. Y

`The invention consists, generally, in a safety coffin and casketdepositor; furthermore, in a portable frame upon which the coffin orcasket is placed, which frame is supported upon pivoted legs andprovided with uprights which extend from the sides near each end andhave rollers mounted upon them, one of said rollers carrying a crank;furthermore, in the above, with ropes running over the rollers, theropes to be placed beneath the coflin to lower it into the grave;furthermore, in certain constr11ctions whereby the device can be foldedinto a small and compact form, better to facilitate transportation, and,nally, in certain novel details, which will hereinafter be more fullyset forth.

In the drawings, in which like letters of reference indicatecorresponding parts, I have shown a device constructed in accordancewith my invention. v

Figurel is a perspective view of the apparatus in position for placingthe coffin thereon. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the apparatus inposition for lowering the cofln. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of thesame, showing it folded for transportation. Fig. 4 is a detail view ofthe slotted roller. Fig. 5 is a detail View of the brake upon thecrank-roller. Fig. 6 is a detail x-'iewof one end of the apparatus,showing the folding legs.

A represents the main frame of the machine, which is rectangular inform, and'is composed of the side bars, c, and the cross or tie pieces aai. The side bars a, are composed of twol pieces of equal length joinedat their inner ends and upon the under side by a hinge and Upon theVouter sides. ofthe cross or tiev pieces a a ofthe main frame areprovided legs a, which are pivoted to the cross-pieces near the sidebars and arranged to be'folded closely together when not in use. Theselegs have notches in their outer edges for theV side bars of the mainframe to take into, and the legs have an outward inclination when`setfor use. Their pivotal points are provided with bolts and thumb-nuts, bymeans of Which they can be held securely in any position. Nearone end ofthis frame are provided nprights B, which are hinged to the framev inorder to allow them to be foldedv down closely against the sides of theside bars. Jointed braces 'b are attached at one end to the center` ofthe outer side of the upright and at the other end to a side bar, a, bymeans of which the -uprights are held in position, and, being hinged,will not interfere with Ythe folding of the uprights to the frame.- Inthe upper end of these uprights' is journaled a roller, b, having acrank at one engl, by means of which it is operated. This roller b"isfurther provided with a diametrical slot or perforation through itscenter and a similar perforation near each end, a groove or indentationconnecting these perforations, which are for the purpose of attachingthe ropes used in lowering the coffin.1 Just below this'roller, andconnecting the uprights, is provided a cross-piece, which serves as alateral brace for the uprights, to one end of which is bolted a clampspring or strap, d, which spring passes around one end of thecrank-ro1ler,'closely conforming to the shape of the roller, and isbrought down upon theopposite side and fastenedv to the opposite attenedend of rthe retainingbolt,whichilattenedendpassesthrough a slot' in the'end of the strap. A cam-lever, d', is eccentrically attached tothe'flattened end of the bolt in .such manner that when the lever isturned down the cam is brought to bear against the end of the spring o rstrap and press it inward, thus tightening thestrap upon the roller andpreventing its movement until released by turning the lever upward andwithdrawing the cam from engagement therewith.

,Near the opposite end of the frame A are provided similar uprights, B',which are hinged to sliding bars b2, whichrest longitudinally upon theside bars of the frame andare adapted to slide thereon, being held inplace by means of stirrups b3, the ends of which are attached to thesides of the sliding bar and inclose the side bars. These sliding barsare laterally secured together by means of a cross-piece, b, and areheld at any point upon the main frame by set-screws b5 in the en ds ofthe sliding bars.

The sliding frame thus formed may be moved backward and forward upon themain frame, thus adjusting the apparatus to suit coftins or caskets ofvarious lengths. A scale may be placed upon the side of the frame as aguide for movement of the sliding frame. The uprights B are hinged tothe inner ends of the sliding bars, and are further secured thereto byjointed or hinged braces be, similar to the ones connecting the uprightsB and the side bars, and which allow the uprights B to be folded downagainst the sliding bars. In the upper ends of the uprights B isjournaled a roller, bl, over which the ropes, which are attached to oneend of the coffin, are passed. rlhe uprights are also provided withcrosspieces just below the rollers, to act as lateral braces.

At one end of the apparatus a strap, a5, is provided immediately beneaththe upright, one end of the strap being permanently secured to a sidebar, a, the other end having a slot, by means of which it is attached toa hook upon the opposite side bar. A similar strap is provided at theopposite end of the main frame, but is secured to the sliding frame andmoves therewith during adjustment. These straps are for the purpose ofsupporting the coiiin while the ropes are being secured beneath it. Tworopes are employed inthe operation of lowering the coffin. These ropesare of equal length, and are fastened to the crank-roller by beingpassed through the slot or perforation in the center of the roller fromthe side opposite to that which bears the groove, an end of each beingthen passed back through one of the perforat-ions at the end of thegroove, thus both ends of each rope issuing from the same side of theroller, or that side which is opposite to the groove, while the bend ofthe rope is embedded in the groove below the surface of the roller. Theinner end of each ropel is carried across the loose roller at theopposite end of the apparatus, and should be of such length as to allowboth ends of the rope to hang exactly the same distance below therollers when the crank-roller has been turned and the rope lwoundthereon. The ends of each rope are upon the same side of the casket. Toeach end of one of the ropesforinstance, the rope that hangs upon thecrank side of the apparatus-is attached an automatic hook,while to theends of the opposite rope are attached straps of preferably equallength,each having eyelets at short intervals to engage the hooks andallow ready and adjustable attachment to a strap of the hook upon theend of the rope at the opposite side of the coffin. The strap which isintended to be placed beneath the head of a coffin willbe hooked upsomewhat longer than the one to be placed beneath the foot of the same,since the head of a coin is wider than the foot, and, as stated, theropes are of equal length; but as a casket is of the same width fromhead to foot, the straps in such instance should be hooked up of equallength.

In operation the apparatus is adjusted to suit the size of coin orcasket to be deposited. This is accomplished by pressing the slidingframe to the proper point, as shown by the scale upon the side bar. Theframe rests upon the pivoted legs at each end, and the coffin or casketis deposited upon the su p porting-straps a5 a5, the uprights being thenraised to a vert1- cal position,bringing the rollers over its ends. rlhedepending ropes are now hooked beneath and the crank is turned backward,as in the act oflifting the coffin or casket from the snpporting-straps,until they assu me a moderatelytight tension, whereupon the latch isturned down, vwhich binds the clamp-spring tightlyV against the rollerand prevents its movement,

thereby preserving the tension on the ropes, keeping the hooks in theirrespective eyelets, and preventing coiiin or casket from rocklng fromside to side on the supporting-straps while being carried to and placedover the grave. Arriving at the grave, the operator grasps the crank,raises the latch, and turns backward until the coiiin or casket islifted from the supporting-straps, which are then unhooked,when thecrank is turned forward, again permitting the ropes to unwind from thecrank-roller and the coiin or casket to descend into the grave. As soonas the coin or casket touches the bottom of the grave and the ropes areslackened, the hooks automatically unfasten themselves, the ropes arerewound upon the crank-roller, and the apparatus is lifted from over thegrave.

The particular automatic hooks need not be described in detail, as theyform no part of this invention, but are themselves the subject of aseparate application for patent.

To fold the apparatus, the pivoted legs are turned up against the sidesof the cross-ties, the jointed braces are doubled, allowing the uprightsto resume a horizontal position, lying closely along the side bars ofthe main frame, and the side bars are swung together, which isaccomplished by means of the central hinges. The parts will now assumethe position shown in Fig. 3, which, as may be seen by inspection,presents the apparatus in small compass and in compact form.

It will be seen that an apparatus constructed IOO as above shown willbev of simple, light, and economical construction, and will readilyaccomplish the desired result.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. 4In an apparatus for depositing co`flins and caskets in graves, thecombination, with the main frame, of uprights extending therefrom andbearing rollers and ropes by means of which the lowering isaccomplished.

2. In an apparatus for depositing eofns and caskets in graves, thecombination, with a main frame composed of two parts .hinged togetherfor the purpose of folding, of uprights extend-- ing therefrom andattached thereto by-means of hinges, braces connecting the uprights andmain frame,said bracesbengjointed or hinged to permit of folding withthe uprights, and rollers j ournaled in the uprights, substantially asshown. 3. In an apparatus for depositing cof ns and caskets in graves,the combination, with the main frame hinged at its center and havingpivotal legs attached thereto, of uprights, one set of which is hinged,to the main frame and the other set attached to a frame sliding upon themain frame, 'substantially as specified.

4. In an apparatus for depositing cofns and Gaskets in graves, thecombination, with the main frame, of uprights extending therefrom, oneset of said uprights being attached to the main frame, the otherattached to a frame sliding thereon, the main frame being provided-uprights hinged to the main frame near one end-and uprights hingedto-the sliding frame upon the opposite end of the main frame, a strapLbeneath the main frame attached to the sides thereof near one end, anda similar strap attached to the sides of the sliding frame at theopposite end, the straps being for the purpose of supporting thecofflnbefore lowering it into the grave, substantially as set forth.

6. In an apparatus for depositing cofns and caskets in graves, acrank-roller having perforations therein for the attachment of theloweringropes, there being a longitudinal groove conneeting saidperforations, and abrake for locking the crank-roller, consisting of astrap rigidly secured to some convenient point of the frame of theapparatus and passing partially around the roller'and connected to apivoted cam-lever, as set forth.

In testimony whereof -I aiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ANDREW M, LEWELLEN.

